Anobit CEO: 'At Apple, They Really Are After You'

Posted January 9, 2013 at 6:58pm by iClarified | Please help us and submit a translation by clicking here | 8001 views

Ariel Maislos, former CEO of Israel's Anobit, a flash memory company acquired by Apple, says 'Intel is full of paranoids, but at Apple, they really are after you.'

Maislos worked for Apple for about a year after his company was acquired, leaving last December. He shared his thoughts about working for Apple at an event sponsored by the Israel Semiconductor Club, reports ZDNet.

Anobit had a working relationship with Apple before talks of an acquisition came about. "When you are working in the flash memory industry, it's kind of hard not to come across Apple at some point, as a partner or a customer – and they were a very big customer. We developed a very good relationship with them, and a mutual appreciation developed between both companies."

Maislos notes that while Intel engineers are rewarded for ingenuity and creativity at given assignments, Apple requires that engineers be at the top of their game. "At Apple, you have to run ahead just to stay in place, and there are very high expectations of everyone. Apple expects everything you do to be amazing."

"That is not the case at Intel, where no one expects you to be 'amazing'," said Maislos, although the company does reward those who bring their "A+ game".

Maislos suggests it's the near death of the company in the late 1990s that shaped the way it does business today. "No one can imagine a future in which the company fails", he said. "Apple has had several important defining moments since that crisis. It's a company that is extremely focused on its goals. Working there was an amazing experience."